Comparative Politics of the Middle East
Comparative Politics of the Middle East
POLS 3408
Dr. Nadine Sika
Fall 2016
MT 11:30- 12:45
Class venue: C145
Email:
Office: HUSS 2008, Extension 1953
Office Hours:Monday: 10:00-11:00; Thursday: 1:00– 2:30 p.m or by appointment
Course Description
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of contemporary politics of the Middle East. The course seeks to address and answer major questions concerning state-society relations in the region. What is the historical origin shaping the socio-political and economic structures of the region? What are the major trends that shape politics in the region? What are the origins of the Arab Israeli conflict, and how far does it affect Arab politics today? What is the role of Political Islam in shaping politics of the Arab world? How does the political economy in the region affect the dynamics of authoritarianism and regime change? How do Arab states treat the problem of ethnic and religious minorities? Through addressing these questions, the course seeks to introduce students to the most important issues shaping the politics of the Arab world today.
Grading
Attendance and Participation15%
2 Midterm Examinations25% (each)
In Class Presentation10%
Country Report25%
Midterm Dates
Midterm 1: October 20
Midterm 2: November 21
Letter Grade / Percentage / Letter Grade / Percentage / Letter Grade / PercentageA / 93+ / B- / 80-82 / D+ / 67-69
A- / 90-92 / C+ / 77-79 / D / 60-66
B+ / 87-89 / C / 73-76 / F / Below 60
B / 83-86 / C- / 70-72
Please refer to the University academic integrity policy concerning academic dishonesty, which includes, but is not limited to: Plagiarism; receipt of information during an examination; use of unauthorized material during an examination; transferal of unauthorized information to another student; and submission of the same paper or substantially the same paper for two different courses.
Readings
All Readings will be posted on Blackboard
Attendance and Participation 15%
Students are expected to actively participate in class through reading the material before class. More than six absences result in an “F”.
Midterm Examinations 25% each
The exams will be composed of short essays and one large essay question. You are requested to have be very analytical in your essay questions
In-Class Presentation 10%
Each student is expected to be part of a group of three (or 4 depending on class size), who conduct a joint 30-minute presentation on a Middle Eastern country, covering three of the major themes which we discuss during the first half of the semester.
Country Report 25%
A 10 page report (12 Times New Roman/double spaced) about the country presented in class should be handed in to the professor on the day of your presentation.
Course Outline
Week 1September 1
Introduction to the course
Week 2September 5 – 8 (September 5 Class cancelled)
The Emergence of the Modern Middle East
Roger Owen, State Power and Politics (London: Routledge, 1992), chapter 1 “The End of Empires: The emergence of the modern Middle East.”
Roger Owen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Dictators(Boston: Harvard University Press, 2013),chapter 1 “the Search for Sovereignty in an insecure World.”
Week 3 September 12 – 15 ( September 15 Eid Adha Vacation)
State Building in Arab Republics
Owen, State Power and Politics Chapter 2 “The growth of state power in the Arab world: The single party regimes”
Owen, Arab Presidents for Life Chapter 4 “Centralized State Systems”
Week 4 September 19-22
State Building inArab Monarchies
Owen, State Power and Politics Chapter 3 “The growth of state power in the Arab world under family rule”
Anderson, Lisa. “Absolutism and the Resilience of Monarchy in the Middle East.” Political Science Quarterly. Spring 1991.
Lucas, Russel. “Monarchical Authoritarianism.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 36 (2004): 103-119.
Week 5 September 26 – 29
State Building in Turkey, Iran and Israel
Owen, State Power and Politics chapter 5 “State and politics in Israel, Iran and Turkey”
Mehran Kamrava, Political History of the Modern Middle East chapter 5 “The Iranian Revolution”
Week 6 October 3 – 6 (Holiday Islamic New Year and Armed forces day)
Week 7 October 10 - 13
Political Economy
Richards et.al. A political Economy of the Middle East 3rd ed. (Westview Press, 2013), pp. 228-263.
Springborg “The precarious Economies of the Arab Springs” Survival 53 (December 2011), 85-104.
Week 8 October 17 – 20
Midterm 1 (October 20)
Political Islam
Quinn Mecham, “Islamist Movements,” in Marc Lynch ed, The Arab Uprisings Explained,” (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014).
Assaad Ghanem and Mohanad Mustafa (2014). “Explaining Political Islam,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 41 (4), pp. 335-354.
Week 9October 24 - 27
Political Islam and Sectarianism
Camille Tawil, “Al-Qaeda in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia: Jihadists and Franchises,” in Khaled Horoub Political Islam (London: Saqi, 2012), pp. 363 – 392.
Danial Byman, “Sectarianism Afflicts the New Middle East,” Survivial 56, no. 1 (2014), pp. 79-100
Julie Peteet, “Question: How Useful Has the Concept of Sectarianism been for understanding the Hisotry, Society and Politics in the Middle East?” International Journal of Middle East Studies 40, no. 4 (2008), pp. 550-552
Week 10October 31 - November 3
Civil Society
Al-Sayyid, Mustapha. “The Concept of Civil Society in the Arab World.” In Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble eds. Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World. Vol. 1. Theoretical Perspectives. Lynne Rienner, 1995: 131-147.
Eberhard Kienle, “Civil Society in the Middle East,” in Oxford Handbook of Civil Society
Week 11 November 7 – 10
Regional and Civil Wars in the Region
Mehran Kamrava, Political History of the Modern Middle East Chapter 7 “The Palestinian Israeli Conflict”
POMEPS studies, “The Political Science of Syria’s War,” pp. 8-18; 26-30; 54-65.
Week 12November 14 – 17
Authoritarianism and the Arab Spring
Albrecht and Schlumberger, “Waiting for Godot: Regime Change without Democratization in the Middle East,” International Political Science Review vol. 25, no. 4 (2004), pp. 371-392.
Robert Springborg, “Arab Militaries,” in Marc Lynch ed. The Arab Uprisings Explained
Joe Stork, “Three Decades of Human Rights Activism in the Middle East and North Africa: An Ambiguous Balance Sheet,” in Joel Beinin and Frederic Vairel, Social Movements, Mobilization, and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa (Stanfod: Stanford Univrsity Press, 2013).
Week 13November 21 – 24 (Thanksgiving holiday November 24)
Midterm Examination 2 (November 21)
Week 14 November 28 – December 1
Student Presentations
Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya
Week 15December 5 - 8
Student Presentations
Jordan, Palestine, Israeland Lebanon
Week 16December 12 – 15 ( El Mawled el Nabawi Holiday)
Student Presentations
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain and Turkey
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